


Kaede’s Adventures in Wonderland

by hopefilledlies



Series: Wonderland AU [4]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Action/Adventure, Animal Traits, Chases, Confusion, Discrimination, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Meetings, Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Multi, Panic, Slow Burn, Threats of Violence, Travel, Wonderland AU, all the ships are implied only, excluding kiibouma and yonameno which are both established, though there isn’t much focus on them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 20:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18532120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopefilledlies/pseuds/hopefilledlies
Summary: Boredom and excitement are on opposite ends of a spectrum, and leaping from one to another can be an awfully overwhelming, dizzying experience.Or perhaps, the dizziness is coming from the weightless, unnerving feeling of falling down an endless rabbit hole.





	Kaede’s Adventures in Wonderland

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Kaede’s Adventures in Wonderland! Take a seat, relax, have some popcorn because we’re in for a ride. If you want to stay updated, see character designs whenever I manage to gather artistic talent or just message me, you can check out my tumblr @lavendrrabbitholes!

The sun was beating, mild and bright in the slightly clouded sky. Streams of gold filtered down through streams of silver water, flowing and bubbling against rocks and earth. The leaves of the large trees rustled in the faintest of breezes, and the grass copied its motions. It was a calm summer day.

Two figures sat slumped under an alder tree at the edge of a sprawling wood, weakly protected from the sun’s heat by shadowed branches. The first, Shuichi, was buried in a mystery novel, hooked on every new piece of evidence as it presented itself. His posture was relaxed, with an additional cap shielding his eyes from the glare through the leaves. 

The second, Kaede, was buried in a book that could not maintain her interest. It was a boring old thing, filled with poems and short stories she was expected to dissect and memorise. Unfortunately, all the words blurred together in her eyes, and no amount of determination could help her secure memory of wordplay that held no meaning to her. 

She dreamed of sitting inside, in the coolness of the parlour where she could sit by her beloved piano and waste away hours playing her heart away. Or, if not that, she at least wanted to be able to scale the tree they were leaning against, so she could see the world from the eyes of a sparrow. Because of this, she couldn’t help but find herself jealous of Shuichi, who was less of a dreamer than her and therefore had already completed the work their shared tutor had set him.

Kaede fiddled with the edge of the page, murmuring the words to help her focus, before eventually trailing off as her magenta eyes wandered from the paper to the scenery surrounding her. Though she had seen it many times, she still felt saddened that such beautiful views stood right in front of her and she had to ignore it for a bunch of words. 

Shuichi seemed to notice her lack of speaking, having absentmindedly followed her murmurs as background noise to the crime scene he was painting in his head. He glanced up from his book, shifting his attention towards her with a hint of concern in his features.

“Are you still having trouble with The Shepheardes Calender?” He asked in quiet pity, and it would have been patronising if this hadn’t been the same boy Kaede had known since before they knew how to walk. Their families were close, and due to Shuichi’s reserved nature, Kaede grew to be his closest (only) friend.

“It’s so repetitive, Shuichi!” She sighed, leaning against him and frowning slightly as she gestured at her page. “I mean, all its talking about is how great Queen Elizabeth was, what else is there for me to get from it?”

He smiled wistfully in response, finding this scenario familiar as he reached over to smooth the page, taking the opportunity to skim read the words. “I’m sure there’s more to it than that. You just need to focus. Look, focus on the fact that it’s from the perspective of a shepherd and go from there.”

She frowned lightly, squinting at the words. Kaede appreciated the advice, she really did, but that still didn’t make her any more interested in the text. After a few moments of angrily glaring at the book, she huffed and relaxed. “That’s good advice, I just wished it was more interesting. This doesn’t exactly inspire me musically.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, nudging her gently as he picked up his own book again. “What, the idea of shepherds doesn’t immediately fill you with creative delight?”

She snorted, shifting off him as she flipped idly through unimportant pages filled with poetic nonsense. “No no, it does. It motivates me to create a complex rendition of Mary Has a Little Lamb.”

He chuckled in response, not speaking any further. Kaede didn’t take offense, assuming he was settling back into his mystery and deciding to leave him be. She shuffled downwards, into something that resembled laying more than sitting, and paused as her eyes returned to the surroundings. 

At first, she paid no mind to the flash of white to her left, within the trees. However, it only took a few moments for her mind to register that such a stark white was unusual in a wood, and that this was a private area.

She pushed back up, her pink dress ruffling around her waist as she leaned forward and made out a moving figure. More importantly, a moving figure with what could only be comparable to rabbit ears, white and soft.

For a brief moment, Kaede was frozen, unsure how to respond. Surely it was a hallucination; after all, no person was ever born with the features of a rabbit, unless cursed like in a fairytale. In the next moment, she felt her mind flood with thoughts. She was a dreamer, yes, but she was also curious. She needed answers, and the first thing she needed to confirm was if the scrambling figure was a figment of imagination or not. 

“Shuichi!” She called, suddenly reaching over to grip his arm to grab his attention, voice lowered to a soft hiss of excitement, not wishing to be heard by the figure. The boy in question flinched, jolting as his gaze ripped up from his novel and he slammed the book shut with a soft thump. Kaede would have apologised, not meaning to startle him, but her mind was running wild and all she could focus on was the mystery in front of her. “Do you see that person with rabbit ears? In the woods?”

Shuichi’s eyebrows furrowed, displaying his clear and understandable confusion. She could tell he had a thousand contradictions on the tip of his tongue, but instead of speaking a single one of them, he chanced a look at the trees.

His gaze didn’t seem to lock on anything, and Kaede was convinced she had just been hallucinating the rabbit. However, after a few seconds of searching, his eyes widened and he straightened.

“I do, I-” He stumbled to his feet, slipping out of Kaede’s hold as he adjusted his hat with his free hand, fingers twitching. “Who is that? How- this is a private estate. That sort of thing doesn’t exist!”

She watched him stand, before following suit quickly, reaching for his hand in a practised soothing motion, reserved for when faced with panic. She squeezed his palm, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as she focused her attention on the retreating figure.

“Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?” Her tone was fierce, protective over the fact that whoever this was triggered a spark of fear in her best friend. The figure froze, and turned just enough for Kaede to catch a glimpse of sun tinted lenses over bright blue, before taking off faster into the woodland.

The impulsive, curious, motherly side of the girl flared, and without a second thought, she slipped her hand from Shuichi’s and started sprinting after the rabbit. “Hey! Hey, answer me!”

She ran, the pounding of her feet a steady rhythm underneath her as the hem of her dress contorted around her knees, attention fixed on the strides of the other. In the background, she could hear Shuichi yelling after her, the sound of him rushing to follow her.

“Kaede, what are you- Kaede! Wait!”

She watched the rabbit flicker between the trees, doing her best to weave through the speckling of wildlife. As her legs began to wobble with speed and she inched closer to the white rabbit, she was sure she could hear the ticking of a clock if she listened close enough. 

“I’m late, I’m late!”

The voice, belonging to the waistcoated rabbit, was frantic and sharp. However, Kaede didn’t have the time to dwell on the meaning behind the mutters, as suddenly in place of the figure with rabbit ears was an actual white rabbit, diving smoothly into a rabbit hole. 

Her legs continued to run away from her, and despite her best efforts, she could not slow in time. Foot slipping, the girl found herself losing balance, the hole seemingly expanding and swallowing her whole.

“Kaede!”

A shrill cry, a lack of gravity, a rush of disorientation. All at once, Kaede found herself dangling in a tunnel downwards that appeared to be anything but a standard rabbit hole. 

Her wrist was snared by a panting, shaking Shuichi, wide eyed as he struggled to pull her back upwards. She wrapped her hand around his wrist to strengthen the grip, straining to drag herself up. 

It almost seemed like it would work, until a distinct crunching sound grated their ears.

The fragile earth gave way beneath Shuichi’s weight, and before either of them knew what was happening, they were plummeting.


End file.
